Marangoni effect in nanosphere-enhanced laser nanopatterning of silicon

We report a Marangoni effect in nanosphere-enhanced laser direct nanopatterning of silicon surface. A monolayer of nanosphere array was formed on the silicon substrate by self-assembly. A 248-nm excimer laser was used to irradiate the sample surface. Due to optical field enhancement between the nanosphere and the substrate, the silicon surface was locally melted. The molten material was redistributed due to surface tension forces, resulting in the formation of a nanodent array. The morphology of the nanodents changed from bowl-type to “Sombrero” with increase of laser intensity as a result of a Marangoni effect that arises due to the competition between a thermocapillary force and a chemicapillary force acting on the molten material.